Aetna to pay $20 million settlement

Aetna has announced it agreed to pay $20 million to settle New York&rsquo;s accusations that it and other health insurers use a manipulated system that shortchanges doctors and hospitals on reimbursement for providing out-of-network services. The news comes two days after New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that UnitedHealth agreed to a $50 million settlement of his investigation into the way insurers pay for care when members go outside the managed care networks. UnitedHealth&rsquo;s Ingenix unit operates the databases that many insurers use to determine what the &quot;reasonable and customary&quot; charge for each out-of-network service should be in each area. Aetna said it will contribute $20 million in installments over five years, at Cuomo&rsquo;s request, to help establish the new database that is part of New York&rsquo;s settlement with UnitedHealth.

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